Wasn’t wine used during the Lord’s Supper?
Question:
I was thankful for the short piece on Jesus not having long hair and not being handsome.
I wanted to correct you, though, in your interpretation of the commandment to observe Passover in Luke. It was wine, not grape juice. Nowhere can you find the Greek words written by Luke or the other New Testament writers referring to the drink (oinos) as anything but wine. It was, pure and simple, wine. Drinking in of itself is not bad, but in excess is. Just as eating can be and even doing too much of anything!
I like that you try to strive for truth in your web site, but let's not cloud God's word.
Answer:
I'm glad you found some of the articles useful.
There is no commandment in Luke or the other gospels to observe the Passover. What Jesus commanded was the observation of a memorial meal, called the Lord's Supper, which was instituted after the Passover (I Corinthians 11:23-26). The Passover meal featured the eating of a lamb and was a yearly observance. The Lord's Supper features bread (unleavened) and fruit of the vine and is observed weekly (I Corinthians 10:16-17; Acts 20:7). The Passover was a memorial for the time the death angel passed over the firstborn in Israel. The Lord's Supper is a memorial to remember the Lord's death.
In regards to the Lord's Supper. The Greek word oinos is not used in connection with the Lord's Supper. Instead, the phrase gennema ampelos, which is translated "fruit of the vine" is used, or is referred to by metonymy as "the cup." The phrase "fruit of the vine" refers to unfermented grape juice, as can be seen by this quote from Josephus:
"God bestows the fruit of the vine upon men for good; which wine is poured out to him, and is the pledge of fidelity and mutual confidence among men, and puts an end to their quarrels, takes away passion and grief out of the minds of them that use it, and makes them cheerful. 'Thou sayest that thou didst squeeze this wine from three clusters of grapes with shine hands and that the king received it: know, therefore, that this vision is for thy good, and foretells a release from thy present distress within the same number of days as the branches had whence thou gatherest thy grapes in thy sleep'" [Josephus, Antiquities II:V:2].
Note that this quotation makes it clear that "wine" (oinos) did not always refer to fermented grape juice. See New Testament Beverages for details.
